Written Answers. - Irish Deaf Society.

Tuesday, 10 October 1995

159.Mr. Killeen
asked the
Minister for Enterprise and Employment
if he will give priority status to the Irish Deaf Society's Forum Project under the Horizon Programme.
[14427/95]

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. R. Bruton):A total of 188 applications seeking over £48 million from the Horizon — disabled strand of the EMPLOYMENT Programme were received by my Department earlier this year. The total European Union funding available for the period up to the end of 1997 amounts to £7.61 million. In order to ensure that each application was comprehensively and fairly considered, my Department constituted a selection committee which included representatives of the Department of Health, Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (2), Department of Social Welfare, National Rehabilitation Board, Department of Education, Support Structure for Horizon disabled (NRB), and Department of Enterprise and Employment: National Co-Ordinator.

At the outset, members of the committee were given a general briefing on the role which my Department required them to discharge. All project applications submitted were made available [1541] to each member of the committee. All applications were given a rating and, following a rigorous selection process, an agreed list of projects was recommended to me for approval.

Unfortunately, the application submitted by the Irish Deaf Society was not among the projects recommended by the committee and all of the available funding will be taken up by the 45 projects that are now approved. However, in the course of 1997, applications will again be sought for the part-funding of projects to operate up to the end of 1999. Accordingly, a further opportunity to apply will exist for all promoters whose applications were not successful on this occasion.